Uber picks Dara Khosrowshahi as its new boss

“A LEADER is a dealer in hope,” said Napoleon Bonaparte. For much of this year Uber, the ride-hailing firm, has lacked both leadership and optimism. But on August 27th news leaked that Uber had poached as its new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, the boss of Expedia, an online-travel company. Mr Khosrowshahi is seen as both an astute dealmaker and a canny manager. In his 12 years at the helm of Expedia, the gross value of its hotel and other travel bookings more than quadrupled and its pre-tax earnings more than doubled.

Can he rally the troops? Uber is a fast-growing company that was last year valued privately by investors at around $68bn, but it has suffered a host of setbacks, which led to the ousting of Travis Kalanick, its co-founder and boss, in June. The firm faces a criminal probe by America’s Department of Justice into a covert software feature that tracked regulators, as well as allegations of incubating a sexist culture. It must also contend with multiple...Continue reading

“A LEADER is a dealer in hope,” said Napoleon Bonaparte. For much of this year Uber, the ride-hailing firm, has lacked both leadership and optimism. But on August 27th news leaked that Uber had poached as its new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, the boss of Expedia, an online-travel company. Mr Khosrowshahi is seen as both an astute dealmaker and a canny manager. In his 12 years at the helm of Expedia, the gross value of its hotel and other travel bookings more than quadrupled and its pre-tax earnings more than doubled.

Can he rally the troops? Uber is a fast-growing company that was last year valued privately by investors at around $68bn, but it has suffered a host of setbacks, which led to the ousting of Travis Kalanick, its co-founder and boss, in June. The firm faces a criminal probe by America’s Department of Justice into a covert software feature that tracked regulators, as well as allegations of incubating a sexist culture. It must also contend with multiple...Continue reading